User:Elwell/Ormiston

rewite of Ormiston article 

Ormiston is a village in East Lothian between Tranent, Dalkeith and Pencaitland located on the north bank of the River Tyne.

John Cockburn (1679 - 1758) yadda yadda land improvement Later for mining coal & limestone - Any kilns?

parish outline - Still valid? The Parish of Ormiston is bounded by Humbie to the South, Pencaitland on the East, Tranent on the North and Cranston on the West. It is about 5 miles in length and very irregular in breadth, varying from 1.5 to about 0.5 mile; its narrowest part being on the Eastern extremity and it is broadest at its centre.

Ormiston itself stands on the north bank of the River Tyne, at an elevation of about 276 ft. consisting chiefly of a broad open straight Main Street with a row of double story houses along each side is the oldest part of the village in the East with the newer parts to the West generally. The road now snakes through the village and crosses two bridges one, over the now redundant railway route and the other narrow bridge is located over the river. It was dreamt by John Cockburn that Ormiston would become a market town but it never materialised. this is the B-road up towards Tranent from the A6093

The general topography of the Parish is low and flat. The Parish is very well supplied with water and since 1922 the village has been connected to County Supplies now owned by the East of Scotland Water Authority. ''mention water? historic info - was connected to mains in X'' The only river in the Parish is the River Tyne, not to be confused with the one in Northern England. It runs through the Parish in a North Easterly direction and was once used to supply water to a Mill which no longer exists. It floods in periods of heavy rainfall and floods adjacent lands. The river rises in Middleton Moor, in the Parish of Borthwick in Midlothian and flows into the sea a little south of Tyninghame, near Dunbar. The bed of the river where it passes Ormiston is upwards of 250 ft above sea level.

Though according to a account of the Parish in 1627 there was no indication of limestone or coal within the Parish, both of which were found in great abundance as time went on. The Ormiston Coal Company's director, Mr James Hyde J.P. lived on the North side of the Main Street in Ormiston at Market-gate.

Ormiston was one of the earliest and best cultivated parishes in Scotland as a consequence of the work by the Cockburn's ownership of the Parish.

In 1127, Robert; Bishop of St. Andrews, claimed that "all the churches of the whole of Lothian in common owe obedience to the Bishop of St. Andrews," and among those present on the occasion of this declaration was Orm, Priest of Houm (Hume). Orme was a well known name in Scotland being borne by people of some importance.

From the Orm family the lands of Orm passed into the possession of the Lindsays until 1368, the only daughter of Sir Alexander Lindsay (Laird of Ormiston), Joan (Jonata or Janet), married John, the second son of Sir Alexander Cockburn of Cockburn (Langton) and this historical family was then vested in the lands and barony of Ormiston by King David Bruce in 1368. The father of 'Jonata' in his youth was a friend and companion of Wallace and in 1311 lost his Estate of Byres (within the Parish of Ormiston) for supporting Bruce in the fight for Scotland's Freedom.

The Cockburns held power as landowners of Ormiston well into the 18th Century. The then John Cockburn, a celebrated agriculturalist born in 1685 and sat as a member of the Scottish Parliament and took an active part in the proceedings connected with the Union of Scotland and England.

In 1726 he erected a brewery and distillery in Ormiston with the works continued by a tenant, Mr Wright. ''hmm, any sign of this today? glenkitchie?''

They promoted the growth of flax and at the same time established a school for teaching young girls to spin linen yarn. To complete the process a bleachfield was established with the help of an Irishman and made the bleachfield the first in this part of the country and perhaps the second in Scotland, for before 1730, fine linens were sent to Holland to be bleached and dressed.

In 1732, a plan was furnished by Mr Lewis Gordon, a land surveyor, brought up from England specifically for the purpose of surveying the forming tenured lands.

John Cockburn died in 1747. check dates says 1758

John, second Earl of Hopetoun succeeded the family of Cockburn by purchase in 1747. John was strictly religious and started each day by reading a portion of scripture and recommend himself to the protection of the Almighty. The was ever ready to help those that were distressed but not to those that were so due to idleness or extravagance. As such he had a lot to do with the greatness of Edinburgh's Royal Infirmary by mark of his generosity. John only spend part of the year residing in Ormiston, spending at least eight months away residing in Hopetoun House. His family and descendants lived and influenced the Parish and is still in the hands of the Earl of Hopetoun.

Robert Moffat the great African Missionary was the father in law of David Livingston and was born in the village.

One of the tenants of the old Schoolhouse on the Main Street was a nephew of Robert Burns, whose mother Isobel (Isabella) Burns was the poets sister. The old graveyard at the Byres homes the gravestone erected by Isobel in memory of her children, the nieces and nephews of the great Scottish Bard.

The Moffat Monument

Robert Moffat was born in Ormiston on 21 December 1795 and died on 9 August 1883 in Leigh, Kent. A granite obelisk was erected in 1885 at the eastern end of the Main Street in memory by subscription. The obelisk has a bust motif in relief under which the single word "Moffat" is inscribed, as well as the details of his birth and death for all to view upon.

The Mercat Cross

At the western end of the Main Street stands the Mercat Cross allegedly dating from the 15th Century but is believed to be much newer than that is erected on three modern steps with a railed enclosure. The old base is octagonal on plan, while the shaft, a monolith, is square in section with arises chamfered and stopped beneath a moulded necking. Above the necking equal limbed crosshead which is connected with the Roman Catholic chapel which stood on the site of the cross at the beginning on the 18th Century.

Ormiston Hall

Home of the Cockburn's and the subsequent successors, the Hopetoun's.